Retort



Oct 30, 1928.

E. P. VAN STONE RETORT Hl Hl l lnuh l L U NI EDsTArssj nnwennryva-ns'ronn, or READING; MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T GENERAL ALLOYS V casting.

Patented Oct. 30, 1928.

v 1,689,808 P TENT omen COMPANY, or nos'lron, ivressaonusnrrsg A CORPORATION oFMAssAoHusEr'rs.

Application filed. April 7,

' Thisinventionrelates to retorts for use in heating metal objects tobe heat treatedjfand more particularly to retorts for this purpose which are arranged to be revolved during the heating operation in order tofh eat the objects more uniformly.

Retort-s of this general type usuallyhave a substantially cylindrical body provided; with a removable cover at one end through'wh-ich metal objects may be charged and discharged and at its other end with a neck. Heret ofore. the substantially cylindrical body} and neck have been formed as an integral hollow casting of bottle shape. Retorts of this type are necessarily of large size and great difiiculty has been experienced in their manufacture by It is not uncommon in the manu facture of such castings to have three out of four rejected and discarded due to cracking during the casting operation. Moreover, re-l torts cast in this manner readily become cracked during normal use on account of repeated heating and cooling which sets up tremendous strains in the casting.

It is an objectof the present invention to provide a retort of this general type which is simple to manufacture and because of its construction is less susceptible to cracking during manufacture and use and which is lighter in weight.

Before explaining the inventionin detail, it is desired to point out that the embodiment of the invention described is merely by way of illustration and that the invention is in no way intended to be limited thereby except as defined by the claims appended hereto.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings: inwhich 1 is an elevational view of a retort embodying the invention Fig. 2 is a sectional vi line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken upon the line 33 of Fig. 1; V

Fig. 4: is an end, elevational'view of the neck of the retort; and," 7

Fig. 5 is an end elevational View of the neck end of the body of the retort.

In the drawings, a retort embodying the invention is illustrated and comprises a body portion 10, preferably of elongatedcylindrical form, one end of which is provided with ew taken upon the 1927. Serial No. 181,718

ret rt. .The other end ojfthe body portion 1 provided with a flange 14 extendingtherefrom and divided into. a plurality of parts byjslots15 preferably extendingin a radial direction, eachof said parts being re-enforced by one or more webs 16 extending to the b'ody portion. A- plurality of holes 18 are provided in the flange 14: for bolts 19 for securing the neck 20 thereto.

. The neck 20 is formed as a senaraterelatively sm"allhollow casting which is tapered or flared outwardly to provide a surface engaging the flange 1,4 ofthe body portion and is provided with. a tongue 22 adapted for engagement with a grove 23 in the flange 14. The flared end portion of the neck 20 is reenforced by internal webs 24 and is provided wi.t-h' holes 25 to receive the bolts 19 In accordance'with the invention, distortion of the castings due to contraction is minimized. This is accomplished in the construction described by the provision of a plurality of slots15 inthe flange 14 which permits the various parts of the flange to move and partially or wholly close the slots 15 dur ing contraction so that-the flange is not subjected to the strains ordinarily encountered by the contraction of a large casting. The

various parts of th e'flange 14 and the flared end portion of the neck 20 are further reenforced by the webs 16 and 24: respectively. The engaging surfaces of the body portion 10 and neck 20 are provided with an interfitting tongue and groove thereby providing a double seal tending to prevent the escape of gases from the interior of. the retort. This tongue and groove construction further as sists in centering the parts during assembly. Preferably, the various parts are constructed with a substantially uniform thickness.

. Heretofore, in retorts of this type in which the body portion and neck were cast integrally, it has been common practice toemploy a relatively thick wall construction with the view of renderingthe casting stronger and preventing too rapid cooling during the casting operation and thereby minimizing the tendency to crack. The retort construction ofthe inventionv is such that this tendency to crack is materially reduced and it is possible to use arelatively thinwall con- "hollow body portionand a separate relatively e '15 1 small hollow, neck'secured together, said body struction thereby bringing about an economy of materials and rendering theretort easier to heat with resulting fuel economy.

WhatI claim is: j

1.. In retort, the combination of a large portion having a slotted; flange extending therefrom, said neck havlng. an outwardly ,flaredportion arranged to engage the flange on said body portion, and webs re-enforcing the flange of the body portion and the flared portion of said neck. I

3. In a large retort, the combination of a. hollow body portion and a separate tapered hollow neck secured together with their engaging surfaces provided with a tongue and 1 groove, and means for minimizing distortion of said'parts by contraction. a .f

. 4. In a retort, the combination of a large hollow body portion and a separatefrelatively small hollow neck secured together, said body portion having a slotted flange extending therefrom, said neck having an outwardly flared portion arranged to engage said flange, and webs re-enforcing the flange of the body portion and the flared portion of said neck,

said flange and flared portion being provided with an interfitting tongue 'andgroove.

5. In a retort, a body casting having an in.- Wardly flanged open end, the flange being divided into a plurality of parts by:s"lots,and an end casting secured to said flange.

6. In a retort, a casting'comprising a large secured to said flange. V p p e In testimony whereof I affix mysignature. ED WARD P. VANSTONE.

body portion and a flange extending therefrom divided into a plurality ofparts by slots, v said parts being re-enforced by webs extending to the body portion, and an end casting 

